Journal lubricators



Nov. 14, 1961 R. J. HoUsMAN JOURNAL LUBRIcAToRs Filed Feb. 24. 1959 722 /ezz for fd cffozwmafz :DDDDFCDD :DDE DQCDDDEAZE:

nrw

United States Patent Illinois Filed Feb. 24, 1959, Ser. No. 795,184 Claims. (Cl. 308-88) This invention relates to journal lubricators of the type employed in journal boxes of railroad rolling Stock axles to supply lubricant from an oil reservoir in the bottom of the journal box to the journal therein and has reference more particularly to improved facilities of the type shown and described in my application Serial No. 704,123, filed on December 20, 1957, wherein a pair of journal Wiper elements of a generally oval form, and having lubricant permeable exterior surfaces, extend divergently upward from the bottom of the journal box at opposite sides respectively of the journal in wiping engagement with the journal.

In such lubricators the opposite side walls of the lobes present outwardly facing convex surfaces which are compressed toward one another when the lubricator is installed in the journal box and as the outer side of the lobe corresponds generally to the Shape of the interior surface of the journal box at the place where the lobe is located, the compression of the opposite sides of the lobe toward one another causes the outer side of the lobe to conform to and bear against the interior surface of the journal box throughout substantially the entire width of that side of the lobe.

lnasmuch, however, as the journal is of cylindrical form and presents a surface of opposite convexity to that of the inner side of the lobe, the inner side of the lobe bears against the journal only along a relatively narrow portion of its width and accordingly the principal compression of the opposite sides of the lobe toward one another occurs and is localized along such narrow width of the inner side of the lobe.

It is important that a substantially constant amount of resistance to compression be maintained at that place of principal compression, and throughout the llength of the journal, not only when the lubricator is originally installed but also as the overhead bearing of the journal wears away in use and the journal thereby caused to recede from the bottom of the journal box, and this invention has reference more particularly to facilities by which adequate and uniform compressibility is provided and maintained at that place of principal compression.

In accordance with the present invention Wiper lobes of an elongated lflattened tubular form similar to those of my'aforesaid application are employed and likewise flexibly connected to one another to extend divergently upward at opposite sides respectively of the journal, and at the aforesaid place of principal compression, localized resilient means is interposed between the opposite side walls of the lobe and compressed therebetween when installed -in therjournal box to provide localized resistance at this place to resiliently reinforce the lobes at the place of direct `compression thereof and assure adequate resiliency at that place and uniformity thereof throughout the length of the journal, and preferably such localized resilient means is provided by forming the lobe walls at the opposite sides with matching ribs which abut and conjointly provide an interposed compressible separator between the opposite side Walls of the lobe.

The principal objects of the invention are to provide an improved journal lubricator of the above mentioned divergent lobe type; to insure ample resiliency and compressibility and amplitude of resiliency of the lobes at the place of engagement with the journal to assure proper wiping engagement of the lobes with the ljournal for "ice constant uniform lubrication thereof throughout the length of the journal; to permit Ilocalization of the desired amount of resistance to compressib-ility at the particular place of engagement of the journal with the lobes; to provide a si-mple and convenient construction providing such localized resistance to compressibility and a convenient method by which such localized resistance is provided, these and other objects being accomplished as pointed out more particularly hereinafter and as disclosed in the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a central longitudinal sectional view, greatly reduced in size, of a railroad axle journal box with the journal end of a railroad axle in Voperative position therein and provided with a lubricator in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross sectional view, on the `line 2-2 of FIG. :1, .of the lower portion of the journal box and journal and showing the lubricator in journal lubricating position;

F-IG. 3 is a View on a greatly reduced scale looking at the back of a flat panel as prepared to form a wiper lobe therefrom and showing a portion of the front face covering thereon;

FIG. 4 is a View, partly in section, of the panel of FIG. 3, taken along the line 4-4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 fis a view showing the panel of FIG. 4 folded over into the lobe form thereof and looking at one end of the thus formed lobe;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view, taken on the line 6 6 of FIG. 3, showing a lateral edge portion of the panel and front covering thereof; and

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary detail view, substantially on the line 7-7 of FIG. 2, showing the manner in which the two opposed Wiper lobes of the lubricator are linked to one another.

Referring to the drawing, which illustrates a preferred embodiment of `the invention, the journal and journal box assembly is of conventional construction and comprises a journal box 15 containing a journal 16 which is at the end of a railroad rolling stock axle 17, the journal having a bearing shoe 18 on the top thereof which is separa-ted from the top wall 19 of the journal box 15 by a block or key 20 so that the load carried by the journal box is supported by the journal 1'6 through the interposed wedge 20 and bearing 418.

The bottom portion of the journal box is of generally semi-cylindrical cross section with opposite side wall portions 2:1 curving upwardly at opposite sides of the journal to straight upright continuations `22 thereof, and the journal 1-6 is eccentrically disposed at an elevation above the bottom of the journal box providing a relatively wide spacing therefrom at the bottom with the wall portions 21 and 22 approaching progressively closer to the journal as they extend upwardly at opposite sides thereof, thereby providing a space somewhat of crescent shape curving upwardly to places of narrowed width at lthe opposite sides of the journal, as shown particularly in FIG. 2.

The cylindrical bottom of the journal box is closed at the front and rear ends by journal wall portions 2'3 and 24 respectively extending upwardly to such elevation to form a receptacle for 'lubricant underneath the journal and the journal lubricator is of the sarne general form and construction as that of my aforesaid application and comprises interconnected lobe elements 25 which extend divergently upward from the bottom of the lubricant receptacle at opposite sides of the journal and are compressed between the journal and opposite sides of the journal box, as shown in FIG. 2, to provide firm wiping engagement of the lobes at their inner sides against the journal and communicate lubricant thereto from the reservoir a-t the bottom of the journal box.

The bearing shoe 18 gradually wears away in use and the eccentricity of the journal from the journal box is thus gradually increased and it is important that the lubricator continue appropriate wiping engagement with the journal throughout this wearing away of the bearing shoe and the consequent increase in distance of the journal from the bottom of the journal box.

The lobe elements 2S are of elongated attened tubular form having a peripheral wall with lubricant permeable material on the outer face thereof and this wall is of a resilient material and shaped in general fan-shaped anticline form providing oppositely bulged concavo-convex opposite side wall portions :26 and 27 which are resiliently compressible toward one another. Each lobe is of -a corresponding length to extend from end to end of the journal, or at least throughout the length of engagement of the bearing shoe 13 with they journal.

At the outer end of the lobe the peripheral wall of the lobe is shaped in return bend form as indicated at 28 to provide a rounded connection of `the outer extremities of the side wall portions '26 and 27 with one another and these side wall portions 26 and .27 extend relatively convergently toward the inner end of the lobe and are connected in this convergent relation, thus providing a lobe inner extremity of a somewhat pointed nature and by reason of this somewhat pointed inner extremity and rounded outer extremity, the lobes have a generally oval cross section approximately as shown in FIG. 5, in which the place of widest separation of the opposite side walls is at one side of the midwidth of the lobe farther from the inner extremity of the lobe and nearer to the outer extremity thereof.

The inner ends of the side wall portions 26 and 27 may be connected to one another in any convenient manner and at these connected ends the lobes are flexibly interconnected to swing relatively to one another and such interconnection preferably provides a latitude of swinging movement so that the lobes may be swung to reversed positons of divergency so that the lubricator may be installed in reversed positions in the journal box with either the side walls 26 or the side walls 27 applied to the opposite sides of the journal.

For connecting the inner ends of the side wall portions 26 and 27 and for connecting the lobes to one another, facilities are shown herein like those employed for the purpose in my aforesaid application and comprising connecting means of conventional belt connector type, such as shown in FIG. 7, comprising strips of laterally spaced pairs of opposed clamping arms with gripping claws and wherein the clamping arms of each pair are connected by corresponding aligned bight portions spaced apart so that the bight portions of one such strip may be interposed between the bight portions of yanother strip and the strips hingedly connected to one another by a wire inserted through the interposed or intercalated bight portions of the two strips.

One such strip, which is indicated at 29, is connected to the inner end of the lobe side wall 27 and a similar strip 3u is clamped to the inner end of the side wall portion 26 and the bight portions of the respective strips are arranged in intercalated relation and connected in such relation by a wire 3l extending through the thus intercalated bight portions.

Thus the inner ends of the side walls 26 and 27 are connected to one another by a hinge permitting relative swinging movement of the inner ends of said walls.

For interconnecting the lobes, the connecting wire 31 at the inner extremity of each lobe is extended outwardly at opposite ends of the respective pair of hingedly connected strips 29 and 30 and each thus extended wire end is connected to the corresponding extended end of the wire 31 of the other lobe, as for example by twisting the ends of the wires together as indicated at 32 in FG. 7, thereby linking the lobes together in close -adjoining laterally spaced parallel hinged relation to one another with two places of hinging thereof, one on the wire 31 of the one lobe and the other on the wire 31 of the other lobe. This linking of the lobes to one another provides a lateral spacing of the inner ends of the lobes from one another to permit adjustment of the lobes to a close divergent relation and also permits a swinging movement of the inner end of each lobe about its own wire 31 and also about the wire 31 of the other lobe as a pivotal axis.

These lobes 25 and 26 are of such width to occupy a position in the journal box substantially as shown in FIG. 2, and by reason of the rounded outer ends of the lobes and the `somewhat pointed inner ends thereof and the location of the place of widest separation of the side walls 26 and 27 from one another outwardly beyond the midwidth of the lobes and relatively nearer to the outer ends as aforesaid, the place of engagement of the journal with the inner side of each lobe is approximately at this place of widest separation of the lobe side walls and the normal thickness of the lobe at this place is such that, when the lubricator is installed in the journal box, the lobe is compressed at this place to a reduced overall thickness which imparts a separating tension to the side walls which is sufficient to insure positive wiping contact of the inner side wall of the lobe with the journal and also ample follow-up of that side wall with the journal as the bearing shoe 18 wears away to maintain such positive wiping contact as the distance of the journal from the bottom of the journal box increases.

To insure such separating tension and adequate resiliency of compression at the place of contact of the journal with the inner walls of the lobes, a localized separator 33 of resiliently compressible material is provided, in accordance with this invention, between the opposite side walls 26 and 27 of each lobe at the place of engagement of the journal 16 With the side wall 26 and of a separating expanse to be compressed to a substantial extent when the lubricator is installed in the journal box, and this separator is of approximately the width of contact of the journal against the side wall 26 and extends substantially Ifrom end to end of the lobe to insure uniformity of wiping contact of the side wall 26 with the journal throughout the length of the lobe.

The peripheral walls of the lobes are preferably of a cushiony compressible material, such as a spongy or cellular rubber-like material of a substantial thickness, such, for example, as approximately one-half inch, a material such, for example, as neoprene being desirable which is immune to detrimental action by lubricant, and it is preferably of closed cell type which is a nonabsorben-t to lubricant, 4and preferably the separator 33 is made of the same material as the peripheral wall and as an integral part thereof.

Lobes of the type of my above mentioned application Serial No. 704,123 are made from a at rectangularfpanel of the -thick peripheral wall material which is folded over in the oval lobe cross sectional form with the opposite ends of the panel connected at the hinged inner end of the lobe, so that the return bend is at the outer extremity of the lobe and is under a tension tending to separate the opposite side walls of the lobe from one another, and similar panels are preferably employed for making the lobes of the present invention but with ribs on the side thereof which is to become the inner side ofthe peripheral wall of the lobe and having these ribs located equally distant from the place of folding of the panel and projecting sufficiently from the panel so that they close together upon folding of the panel to the lobe cross sectional shape.

Thus the lobes of the present invention may be made from a thick flat rectangular panel 34 of compressible cushiony material, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, which is molded with laterally spaced ribs 35 at one side thereof equally spaced in parallel relation from the center line of the panel length, so that when the panel is folded over in the lobe form as shown in FIG. 5 and the opposite v ends of the panel connected in the manner hereinbefore explained, the ribs 35 are in matching position on the inner sides respectively of the side walls 26 and 27 and abut against one another to resiliently hold said side walls in the separated relation, and these ribs are located suiciently remote from the opposite ends of the panel and near to the center line of the length of the panel so that they will be located near to the outer end of the lobe approximately at the place where the journal bears against the lobe when the lubricator is installed in the journal box, and when abutted together they divide the interior of the lobe into two passages or openings, one of which is relatively small and located in the outer end of the lobe as indicated at 36, and the other of which is relatively large and within approximately the inner half of the lobe as indicated at 37 While it is preferred to mold the panel 34 with the ribs 35 as an integral part thereof, such ribs may be attached to a flat panel, as for example by a cement which is immune to lubricant and assures permanence of adherence, and they may be of a differently compressible material than the peripheral Wall of the lobe, if desired, and they project suiciently from the face of the flat panel so that their inner ends are positively engaged in the folded form of the panel and yieldingly hold the opposite side Walls separated, and Awhen the lubricator is placed in the journal box and the lobes are compressed between the journal and the journal box wall, these ribs 35 are conjointly compressed together as indicated in FIG. 2 to a tension to contribute, together with that of the side walls 26 and 27, such resiliency as will assure positive wiping of the lobes against the journal at all times.

The lobes may be stiifened peripherally by spring means incorporated in the peripheral Wall of the lobe, if desired, but by virtue of inherent resiliency of the walls 26 and 27 and the return bend 28 and the interposition of the ribs 35 at the place of direct bearing of the journal 16 against the side of the lobe, the necessity of such spring means reinforcing is eliminated and the construction of the lubricator simplied and improved.

Obviously the degree of resiliency of the lobe at the place of journal pressure thereagainst may be readily controlled by the width and elevation of the ribs 35 as well as by the particular composition of the material from which the ribs are formed.

vThe lobes 25 are provided on the outer face thereof with a lubricant permeable material which serves as a wicking to communicate lubricant from the lubricant reservoir at the bottom of the journal box to the place of wip ing engagement of the lobes against the journal, and this lubricant permeable material is preferably a coarse lubricant absorbing terry cloth type of material having a base 38 of woven fabric with close adjoining tufts or loops 39 projecting therefrom at one side to provide a shaggy tufed or pile surfacing, and this material is secured to the lobes 25 to cover the entire exterior surface thereof with the shaggy side facing outwardly so that the journal wipes against the shaggy side thereof.

This facing material is preferably applied to the backing panel 34 While the latter is flat, the covering being provided at its opposite edges -with plain margins 40 which are turned under the lateral margins of the panel at the side thereof at which the ribs 35 are located, the ribs `being terminated a suflicient distance from the side margins of the panel as shown in FIG. 3 for this purpose, and these turned under margins 40 are stitched to the panel margins as at 41. The terry cloth covering is somewhat longer than the panel to leave ends thereof projecting beyond the panel and these extend over the clamping strips 29 and 30' by which the panel ends are secured together and the lobe inner ends secured to one another.

Inasmuch as the lobes are disposed in the journal box with the connected ends thereof at the bottom of the journal box, the opposite ends of the terry cloth covering extend deep into the lubricant containing reservoir so that lubricant is readily communicable from the reservoir to the place of wiping engagement ofthe journal against the lobes.l

lFor convenience of manipulation, straps 4Z may be provided at opposite ends of the lubricator, as indicated in FIG. l, and the lubricator is reversible in the journal box in the respect that either end may be inserted therein lforemost and it is also reversible in the respect that it may be turned upside down so that either the lobe side walls 26 may bein wiping engagement lwith the journal or the lobe side walls 27 lrnayl be in -wiping engagement therewith.

The opposite sides of the lobes of the lubricator normally are of a convex ycross sectional curvature correspondinggenerally to the curved shape of the portions of the journal wall along which the lobes extend and when the lobes are compressed between the journal and journal box the outer sides of the lobes conform throughout substantially the entire width of the lobes to the `curved shape of the portions of the journal wall to which the lobes are applied and the hinged-connection of the inner ends of the lobes is maintained at the bottom of. the lubricant reservoir. t

While I have shown and described my invention in a preferred form, I am aware that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the principles of the invention, the scope of which is to be determined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A lubricator equipped journal box assembly comprising a journal, a bearing ridingA on the upper surface of the journal, and a journal box containing the journal and bearing and having la transversely rounded bottom underneath the journal and closed at its ends to provide a lubricant reservoir, the journal box having a top wal-l between which and the journal the bearing is interposed and opposite side walls which are located respectively at opposite sides of the journal and extend upwardly from opposite sides respectively of said transversely rounded bottom, and the lubricator with which the journal bzox assembly is equipped is removable therefrom and supported on the bottom of the journal box and cornprises a pair of corresponding loop shaped wall lengths which are stiff and resiliently bendable and have respective resiliently variable return bend portions thereof at opposite sides respectively of the journal each with opposite side Wall portions resiliently supported by the return bend portion in outwardly arched form and resiliently resistive by the return bend portion to dearching thereof an-d continued convergently downward from the return bend portion toward the bottom of the journal box at the midwidth thereof to provide a tapered shank which extends toward and is hingedly interconnected with the tapered shank of the other loop and lirmly holds the respective return Abend portion at an elevation at one of said opposite sides of the journal, each loop having the journal bearing against one of its outwardly arched side walls and each loop having resiliently compressible material extending between its Ioutwardly arched opposite side Wall portions and localized therebetween approximately at the place where the journal bears against one of said opposite side walls and providing a partition extending between said opposite side wall portions and having at opposite sides respectively thereof large and small openings which extend transversely through the loop, the large opening of which is within the tapered shank portion of the loop and the smaller opening of which is in the return bend, each said loop being provided with lubricant permeable means by which lubricant is communicable from the lubricant reservoir to the place where the journal bears against one of the side walls of the loop.

2. The method of making a journal lubricator with two resiliently compressible igenerally tubular lobes having outwardly bulged opposite sides with a spreader therebetween, which said method comprises bending each of two fiat bendable panel portions of resiliently compressible material into corresponding loop form with outwardly bulged opposite sides, and before such bending thereof providing each of said panel portions with at least one spreader projection of resiliently compressible material projecting therefrom at a place where such bending of the panel interposes the projection between the outwardly bulged opposite sides approximately at the place of widest separation thereof.

3. The method of making a journal lubricator with two resiliently compressible generally tubular lobes having outwardly bulged opposite sides with a spreader therebetween, which said method `comprises bending each of two fiat bendable panel portions of resiliently compressible material into corresponding loop form with outwardly bulged opposite sides, and before such bending thereof providing each of said panel portions with a pair of laterally spaced ribs of resiliently compressible material projecting therefrom at places where such bending of the panel interposes the ribs between the outwardly bulged opposite sides in abutting relation to one another.

4. A journal lubricator of the class described for wiping lubricant on the opposite sides of a journal, said lubricator comprising hinging means and a pair of independently compressible generally cylindrical wiper elements extending outwardly from and interconnected by the hinging means in generally parallel relation to swing sidewise toward one another for divergent disposition at opposite sides respectively of a journall in sidewise wiping engagement thereagainst, each said element having a body of said generally cylindrical form with a stil resiliently bendab-le peripheral wall the bendability of which provides the major resistivity of the body to compression thereof, said wall being formed with a rounded return bend which is remote from the hinging means and has leg portions extending therefrom which are resiliently supported by the return bend in outwardly arched form and are resiliently resistive by the return bend to dearching thereof and extend in converging relation to one another at opposite sides respectively of the body toward the hinging means and provide a relatively stiff generally tapered shank by which the return bend is firmly held remotely from and in parallelism with the axis of the hinging means, the said arched wall portions having the interval therebetween provided with a partition of resiliently compressible material extending between said arched wall portions approximately at the place of widest separation thereof from one another and having large and small openings at opposite sides thereof extending through the body from end to end thereof in substantial parallelism with the axis of the hinge means, the large opening being in the tapered shank and the small opening being in the return bend, each body being provided with lubricant permeable means by which lubricant is communicable from the portion of the tapered shank adjacent the hinging means to the outermost part of an outwardly arched leg portion.

5. A journal lubricator as defined in claim 4 in which the partition is provided by ribs of resiliently compressible material on the inner side of the arched wall portions.

6. A journal lubricator as defined in claim 4 in which the partition is composed of abutting ribs of resiliently compressible material on the inner sides of the arched wall portions.

7. A journal lubricator as defined in claim 4 in which the resiliently bendable peripheral wall is a panel of resiliently compressible material folded `over in a loop form which provides the return bend and leg portions.

8. A journal lubricator as defined in claim 4 in which each arched wall portion has the resiliently compressible material thereof extended toward the other arched wall portion and providing projections on each arched wall portion which conjointly form the partition.

9. A journal lubricator as defined in claim 4 in which each arched wall portion has the resiliently compressible material thereof extended therefrom toward the other arched wall portion and providing projections on both arched wall portions which abut against one another and conjointly form the partition.

10. A journal lubricator as defined in claim 4 in which the arched wall portions are portions o-f a resiliently bendable panel of resilient material which is folded over in the form of a loop with the rnidportion of the panel forming the return bend and the opposite end portions of the panel converging toward one another.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,807,803 Rockwell Sept. 24, 1957 

